Are you interested in how education about Hinduism in U.S. schools is viewed by Hindus, themselves? Do you appreciate learning from marginalized voices? Do you value historical insights? If any of these applies to you, then you will almost certainly appreciate Hindu at Heart: Education, Faith, and What it Means to Belong in America by Indu Viswanathan, Ed.D. (Briarcliff Press, 2025).

Introduction

Viswanathan is a product of American public schools, a parent to children who attended American public schools, an educator, and a scholar. Her book explores how the long reach of our Christian-majority culture has impacted America’s views of Hinduism and reflects on how those views have, in turn, influenced curricular materials used in schools.

Viswanathan is highly supportive of classroom teachers, offering numerous anecdotes about their willingness to alter classroom content based on feedback from Hindu students and their families. However, she paints a rather frightening picture about long-standing cultural propaganda around Hinduism’s incompatibility with America’s democratic principles. She also contends (quite convincingly) that curricular content routinely leaves Hindu Americans navigating a veritable minefield of disinformation. Viswanathan delves into all these issues while also setting her sights on a wide swath of the American public. As she clearly states in the preface:

“This book is written as a resource for Hindu American families with children in K-12 schools,
and for the educators and community members who engage with them.”

I especially admire her vision of a civil, compassionate, and humble process moving forward — where we all work together to move past our preconceived notions and assumptions about one another.

Book Summary

Hindu at Heart begins with a few short opening sections followed by seven chapters. The opening sections offer a few vignettes from Viswanathan’s personal life as well as some background information on the Hindu families she interviewed.

Each chapter then moves steadily, but loosely, through U.S. History as Viswanathan tackles various themes, including:

• the formation of the public school system during the Industrial Revolution
• the prevailing view in the 1800s that Hindus are heathens and that Hinduism is violent
• the rise in immigration in the early 1900s and the efforts to assimilate immigrant students, even if it meant squashing home cultures
• the role of theoretical and empirical research on current pedagogical trends
• the impact of desegregation, Multicultural Education (MCE), Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP), and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) on contemporary education
• current political and media representations of Hinduism
• viewpoints from Hindu Americans of various ages – teens, young adults, and their parents

Quotes, graphs/tables, and media images throughout the book serve to bolster her claims without making the reader feel overwhelmed. Each chapter also concludes with a vignette drawn from her interviews with 22 Bay Area Hindus, all of whom testified in Sacramento, CA in 2017 about how Hinduism was (mis)represented in their school curricula.

If your head is spinning a bit, it should be! This book offers a sweeping array of content in a single volume of less than 200 pages. Some of the tables were created by Viswanathan from a variety of sources, since the consolidated data she was seeking wasn’t readily available, and the Endnotes include dozens of references.

Analysis

Viswanathan’s vast knowledge base – about Hinduism, about the U.S. public education system, and about what it means to be a Hindu American in the 21^st century – is the primary strength of this book. With such an expansive view of the historical, educational, and religious landscape in the U.S., she essentially guarantees that every reader will learn something.

Another strength is her overall positive attitude – about classroom teachers, about the fortitude of Hindu American youth, and about our capacity to do better. She manages to raise serious concerns without being threatening or pessimistic, which is a testament to her thoughtfulness and grace.

Although I found the book enlightening on several different fronts, I must admit that I was a little disappointed with Viswanathan’s treatment of two topics near the end of her book: yoga and Hindutva. Given the book’s extensive coverage, I can understand why there isn’t more in-depth coverage on those two points. However, both topics are very interesting to me, and I think they will continue to be part of the American landscape for some time to come, so I was curious to hear her views. Perhaps, I just need to wait for her next book!

Overall, I highly recommend this book for:

• Hindu Americans interested in the history of Hindu-related propaganda throughout U.S. history
• Teachers who include Hinduism-related content in their classrooms and/or have Hindu students
• Religious literacy researchers and educators who want to learn more about how we ended up with the largely-inaccurate and sometimes-horrifying curricular materials still in use.

I would also recommend this book for anyone who thinks the U.S. will reach its full potential only when each and every person feels that their religious beliefs are seen, heard, acknowledged, and respected.

About the Author

Rev. Vicki Garlock, Ph.D. is the founder of World Religions 4 Kids, a company dedicated to improving religious literacy in children and their adults. She recently earned a Guinness World Records™ title for visiting the Most Places of Worship in One Month — 185 in the beautiful city of Chicago!

She is also the author of We All Have Sacred Spaces and ABCs of the World’s Religions, both of which received multiple awards. Geared to kids age 5-10, the books offer insights into numerous religious traditions in a single volume, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Sikhism.

Vicki earned her Ph.D. in Psychology with dual specialties in neuroscience and cognitive development. Over the years, she has written extensively for both The Interfaith Observer and Multicultural Kid Blogs. She also regularly works with educators (especially social studies teachers), parents, and faith communities around the country. Vicki and her husband live in Asheville and have two almost-grown children. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, X, or TikTok (@teachworldreligions).